NOON NUGGETS: Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Posted: April 10, 2013

By Winchesterstar.com

With Wire Reports

WEATHER: It's 84 degrees with scattered clouds over downtown Winchester at noon. Today should be the hottest day, so far, with a high of 86 this afternoon under clear to partly cloudy skies. Partly cloudy and 63 for a low tonight.

Hot again on Thursday, a high of 84, but a 30 percent chance of precipitation. A greater chance of rain on Friday, with highs back in the lower 70s. Dry with highs in the lower to mid-60s this weekend.

Celebration and Farewell

Amish girls play softball after class during an end of the school year celebration on Tuesday, April 9, 2013 in Bergholz, Ohio. The celebration was also part of a farewell picnic for four women and one man from this tight-knit group in rural eastern Ohio who will enter prison on Friday, joining nine already behind bars on hate crimes convictions for hair- and beard-cutting attacks against fellow Amish. (AP Photo/Scott R. Galvin)

MIDDAY STOCKS: The Standard & Poor's 500 index is pushing through its previous all-time high set in October 2007 as stocks climb in midday trading on Wall Street.

The benchmark index is up 16 points, or 1 percent, at 1,585, breaking its high of 1,576 set before the financial crisis.

Other indexes also rose Wednesday, led by technology stocks.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 125 points, or 0.9 percent, to 14,799. The Dow was on its way to another record high close, having set its latest one the day before. Intel was the biggest gainer in the Dow, up 3 percent.

The Nasdaq composite index, which is heavily weighted toward technology stocks, rose even more than the Dow and S&P. The Nasdaq rose 1.6 percent, or 52 points, to 3,290.

Frederick County approved its budget for 2014. It does not include a real estate tax rate increase. STORY

IN THURSDAY'S STAR: What happened to spring? The calendar says spring, but the thermometer has gone from winter to summer.

Four chalkboards installed along the Loudoun Street Mall invite people to finish this sentence: “Before I die I want to...” SU, the Shenandoah Arts Council, and the City of Winchester teamed up for the project.

LOCAL MEETING OF NOTE: Clarke County Board of Supervisors' Public Hearing on FY 14 Budget, 7:30 at the Joint Government Center.

SPORTS:Today
Baseball
Handley at Clarke County, 5

Softball
Sherando at Millbrook, 5
Handley at Clarke County, 5

Boys' Tennis
Sherando at James Wood, 4:30
Clarke County at Jefferson (W.Va.), 4

Girls' Tennis
Jefferson (W. Va.) at Clarke County, 4

Track and Field
Skyline at Handley, 5
James Wood, Clarke County at Central quad, 5
Millbrook at Sherando, 5:30